Loom reed



1964 w. c. ROCKETT LOOM REED Filed Sept. 27. 1962 INVENTOR. WILLIAM G ROC/(E 7' 7' ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,154,110 LOOM REED William C. Rockett, Rte. 1, Box 87 6, Greensboro, N.C. Filed Sept. 27, 1962, Ser. N0. 226,669 3 Claims. (Cl. 139192) The present invention relates to loom reeds and more particularly to an improvement for loom reeds in which the longitudinally-extending reed ribs are provided with guards for reducing loom reed damage caused by sharp blows, for protecting dents from distortion and dampening dent vibration as well as lateral and transverse movement of the dents while maintaining uniform dent spacing.

Loom reeds are subjected to continuous wear and destructive forces during loom operation as well as upon installation of a loom reed on a loom in order for the reed to be accurately aligned in the frame. Loom reed dents are also subjected to constant forces for distorting the reeds during movement of the reed as the warp yarns are continuously drawn between the dents. Constant reciprocation and impact of the loom reed against the woven fabric during weaving to position the weft yarns against each other produces dent vibration and distortion which has a deteriorating effect on the dents which will tend to become loose in their mountings or seated positions both in all-metal loom reeds as well as in loom reeds having half-round wooden rib members such as are disclosed in US. Patent No. 2,383,140, among others.

In the use of metal ribs, particularly of the tubular type, lint traps are formed or the tubular member may become filled with dirt and oil which will ultimately fall on the fabric being woven. v

It is an objective of this invention to provide a loom reed with means for reinforcing the loom reed frame and for maintaining dents spacing while affording means for dampening dent vibration.

Another objective of this invention is to provide a removable loom reed rib guard for at least surrounding selected portions of the reed ribs.

A further objective of this invention is to provide a loom reed rib guard capable of absorbing shock loads to which the reed is subjected and preventing loom reed distortion.

Yet another objective of this invention is to provide a shock-absorbing guard for loom reeds capable of absorbing impact loads to which the loom reed is subjected and for minimizing the destructive action caused by sharp blows to the loom reed while preventing loom reed dent vibration and distortion.

Still another objective of this invention is to provide a removable loom reed guard which may be inserted on the loom reed prior to installation on a loom facilitating loom reed storage in a minimum of storage area.

Other objectives and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the weaving art from the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial side elevational view of a loom reed embodying a preferred form of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along the plane of section line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a greatly enlarged transverse sectional view of the loom reed rib guard; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded partial perspective view illustrating the components of the loom reed shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawing and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a loom reed in which there is a plurality of vertically extending and uniformily spaced-apart dents or splits 11 each of which is secured at its terminal ends 12 within the spaced-apart and longitudinally extending horizontal frame members 13, one of which appears on either side of the dents 11 and at their terminal ends. A tightly wound helical spring member 14 extends longitudinally adjacent to the terminal ends of the dents 11 to provide the requisite spacing between the dents, with the spacing varying depending upon the gauge of the wire from which the spring 14 is formed. Longitudinally extending half-round rod members 15, one on each side of the dents is introduced into the projecting loops of spring 14 as shown in FIG. 4, only one being shown, to prevent transverse dent movement.

At the terminal ends of the loom reed 10, is a solid end bar 16 having substantially the same thickness transversely as the reed dents. One end bar is positioned at each end of the loom reed providing a substantially rigid frame when riveted or otherwise secured to the longitudinally-extending pairs offrame members 11. Subsequent to fabrication of the loom reed, solder is applied to the terminal ends of the dents as by emerging the loom reed into a solder bath to the desired depth and allowing'suflicient time for the solder to penetrate into the interstices between dents laminated between the frame members thereby fixing the dent positions upon solder solidification.

Upon being subjected to impact loads and other shocks, the loom reed frequently becomes distorted requiring replacement. By placing a protective guard 17 over the longitudinally-extending frame members, with such guard 17 being formed of a non-metallic material such as high density polyethylene or other suitable plastic material capable of absorbing shock or impact loads, distortion of the loom reed will be prevented.

The protective guard 17, frictionally mounted to substantially envelop the longitudinally-extending frame members 13, is provided with a U-shaped frame member receiving recess 18 the base of which is substantially rectilinear for cooperatively receiving and bottoming a frame therein between the sides or leg members 19 and 20. The arcuate configuration 21 of the guard base 22 eliminates any sharp corners. The plastic guard may be flexible, within limits to permit some reed alignment, however, the sides 19 and 20 are sufficiently rigid to be securely fastened to the frame members 13. It will be noted that the sides or leg members 19 and 2t) converge when in the relaxed condition for secure clamping to the frame members.

It has been found desirable to extend one of the sides or leg members 19 so that it is longer than the other side or leg member 20 in order to secure a circular crosssection and longitudinally-extending bead 24 of a resilient material such as plastic, rubber, or polyethylene, preferably having less rigidity and more resilience than the guard material in order to permit the bead 24 to engage with one side of the dents in order to prevent lateral displacement of the dents and to absorb or dampen vibration of the dents. As shown in FIG. 2, the caps or guards 17 envelop or encompass the frame members and the longer sides 19 project beyond the frame members enabling the bead 24 to engage with the dents along one side thereof and adjacent to the terminal portions of the dents.

Although it has been found desirable to employ high density polyethylene for the caps or guards 17, other plastic materials, including rubber may be utilized. Nylon, Teflon or other suitable plastic materials having a high degree of energy absorption capable of absorbing severe shock loads may also be employed.

It will be apparent that this invention is equally applicable to the conventional loom reed such as shown in US. Patent Nos. 2,383,140; 2,870,796 and 2,941,552 wherein half-round wooden ribs are employed and the wire splits are usually spaced-apart by cords after which pitch is placed around or over the ends of the dents and the halfround members.

It is contemplated that the loom reeds of this invention and the guards may be inverted occasionally to prolong loom reed life. Also it is contemplated that although a single dent engaging protuberance 24 is employed and formed in an articulated form, the guard may be formed integrally with such bead thereon.

The dent engaging bead may be enlarged or decreased when desirable in some applications depending upon extent of vibrations of dents.

Obviously many modifications and variations may be made to the configuration of the guard, the length of the sides and the type of material without departing from the spirit and purpose of this invention, for example, the recess 25 in the frame member receiving cavity may also be modified so as to permit increased flexibility of the sides 19 and 20. Modifications and variations are contemplated within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A loom reed removable guard of substantially rigid plastic material having a pair of spaced-apart solid wedgeshaped leg members for cooperatively receiving and clamping therebetween a loom reed frame member, said leg members having opposed substantially straight interior walls, an arcuate base portion integral and joining said leg members, one of said leg members having an interior longitudinally extending protuberance substantially at right angles to the interior Walls of the leg members.

2. A loom reed removable guard of plastic material having a pair of spaced-apart solid leg members for cooperatively receiving and clamping a loom reed frame member therebetween which leg members converge in the relaxed condition, at least one of said leg members being wedge-shaped in cross-section, each of said leg members having an interior face with a substantial surface of each leg member being contiguous with opposed surfaces of a longitudinally extending loom reed frame member, a base portion integral with said leg members and forming with said interior faces of said leg members a U-shaped longitudinally extending cavity having a rectilinear base for cooperatively receiving and bottoming a loom reed frame member therein.

3. A loom reed removable guard of plastic material having a pair of spaced-apart solid leg members for cooperatively receiving and clamping a loom reed frame member therebetween which leg members converge in the relaxed condition, at least one of said leg members being Wedge-shaped in cross-section, each of said leg members having an interior face with a substantial surface of each leg member being contiguous with opposed surfaces of a longitudinally extending loom reed frame member, a base portion integral with said leg members and forming with said interior faces of said leg members a U-shaped longitudinally extending cavity having a rectilinear base for cooperatively receiving and bottoming a loom reed frame member therein, said base portion having a longitudinally extending groove.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,453,533 5/23 Strohacker 139192 2,572,365 10/51 McFetters 139192 2,673,600 3/54 Cramer l38 2,870,796 1/59 Laughlin 139192 2,989,088 6/61 Schmidt 139192 FOREIGN PATENTS 72,725 3/16 Austria.

564,283 2/58 Belgium.

595,719 12/47 Great Britain.

827,932 2/ Great Britain.

842,486 7/ 60 Great Britain.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

RUSSELL C. MADER, DONALD W. PARKER,

Examiners. 

1. A LOOM REED REMOVABLE GUARD OF SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID PLASTIC MATERIAL HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED-APART SOLID WEDGESHAPED LEG MEMBERS FOR COOPERATIVELY RECEIVING AND CLAMPING THEREBETWEEN A LOOM REED FRAME MEMBER, SAID LEG MEMBERS HAVING OPPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT INTERIOR WALLS, AN ARCUATE BASE PORTION INTEGRAL AND JOINING SAID LEG MEMBERS, ONE OF SAID LEG MEMBERS HAVING AN INTERIOR LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING PROTUBERANCE SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE INTERIOR WALLS OF THE LEG MEMBERS. 